One Woman's Vengeancehttps://onewomansvengeance.com
12 men raped her. 13 died.Thu, 08 Mar 2018 10:10:46 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngOne Woman's Vengeancehttps://onewomansvengeance.com
Mom and My Bad Languagehttps://onewomansvengeance.com/2012/06/19/mom-and-my-bad-language/
https://onewomansvengeance.com/2012/06/19/mom-and-my-bad-language/#respondTue, 19 Jun 2012 19:17:19 +0000http://onewomansvengeance.wordpress.com/?p=13Continue reading →]]>I still listen to my mother. She has a way of cutting through subtleties to get to the essence.
I told her I was troubled that my first novel, The Perfect Song, had very little foul language and only a couple scenes of violence. One Woman’s Vengeance is, by necessity, hard-hitting, violent and is full of adult language. I worry that people who liked the first book may be shocked by the second.
“I liked Vengeance better,” she said. “It’s a really good story. And that’s the way people talk.”
She paused to think about it. “Just go to Facebook and you’ll see how people really talk.”
Mom is right.
She’s 82. She doesn’t give much advice, but when she does it’s usually concise and on target.
]]>https://onewomansvengeance.com/2012/06/19/mom-and-my-bad-language/feed/0DennisMillerOn Writinghttps://onewomansvengeance.com/2011/12/23/on-writing/
https://onewomansvengeance.com/2011/12/23/on-writing/#respondFri, 23 Dec 2011 03:43:16 +0000http://onewomansvengeance.wordpress.com/?p=216Continue reading →]]>The Two Oldest Activities

I’m working every night on One Bullet Beyond Justice. The hardest things to write in new ways are the two oldest human activities — sex and violence.

On the Lonely Writer’s Life

Writer’s keep saying writing is a lonely profession. No. When I’m writing I’m in the midst of a whole world of people, dialogue, action and wondering, as in life, where we go next. When I’ve written a great scene, or found a new twist, or watched a character do something I never expected and I want to rush out and tell my friends and people who care and realize I can’t, knowing they’re waiting for the finished product, the whole story. . . . I can’t say a word. I have to keep it to myself until it’s done and I don’t know when that will be.

That’s when I feel lonely.

How Does She Proceed?

It’s late. I must get back to Nora’s life.
I keep asking, when all her killing is done, when she has exacted revenge on those who murdered her husband and raped her, can she know peace? If not, who is her enemy? Because a person not at peace must have an enemy. And then I ask, who of us is at peace with ourselves?

Why the Writing Stopped

After years — decades! — of writing nonstop, I stopped writing for three weeks.

My wife took my mother to the Cleveland Clinic for open heart surgery, in January. My mother is 84.

In addition to work, I had the responsibilities of taking care of the house, the animals (and their medicines), groceries, cooking and all the things that spouses do that husbands take for granted. But I had it easy.

Linda had the driving, the hospital, the tension.

And Mom had the surgery.

But being five hours from them and the worry . . . I simply couldn’t write. What seemed like a nightly necessity now, in the light of our small collective reality, seemed like a luxury.

They’re back now. Mom is recuperating well. Linda is nearly caught up from the exhaustion of worry, little sleep after three weeks in a motel room and driving in the relentless lake effect snow of Cleveland.

And I’m almost back. Nora is beckoning. I’ve written a couple higher education blogs as a way of easing myself back into the act of thinking and writing. I have a daily sense of relief and profound gratitude that we’re all back together and life is fairly normal.

Writing is important to me, but some things are more important. Things like family and life.

Tenuous gifts to be appreciated every day, every moment.

Writing on the Road

People ask when and how I write. It’s a continuous thing. Awhile back I was driving home from work and was in the middle of a scene in the Vengeance sequel. Nora was in a fight with two men and I always struggle with fight scenes and killing scenes to get them just right to avoid stereotypes and cliches. It has to be true to the character and the plot. And since killing has been a part of the human story since Cain and Abel, you have to work really hard to be original in your killing. A lazy, easy killing is death for a writer.

Anyway, I was in the middle of it, seeing it, feeling it, mentally describing it, and drove past the exit that I’ve taken at least a thousand times. I slammed on the brakes in the middle of the space between the four lane and the exit and backed up, now suddenly imagining a state cop pulling me over.

“What you did was illegal. It could have caused an accident.”

“I’m sorry officer. I was, uh, writing.”

“I think that’s illegal while you’re driving.”

“I was writing in my head.”

“It’s not illegal but it’s dangerous.”

He was right. I think writers are, at times, almost as dangerous as people talking on cell phones. We’re in a different world, so fully engaged that you drive right by your exit to home.

Your Audience of One

Writing is an act and your audience should have one member — you. Your goal should be to write so real and convincingly that your audience sits in rapt attention. It has to be so compelling that your audience wants to come back for more, and in fact has to come back for more. If you succeed with that member – you – when your work is published your audience will steadily grow with other like-minded people drawn to your art.

* * *

On Happy Endings

I recently gave a reading to a university audience of faculty, staff and students. After I talked about Nora’s character and all her trials, I said to end it with Nora and Peter living happily ever after would be disingenuous. I reworked the end maybe 20 times so that it was neither happy or unhappy. It was hopeful. Then I added a post script which introduced a sinister element.

And it worked.

In most cases, I don’t believe in happy endings. In fiction, as in life, endings are just pauses pointing to a new beginning.

* * *

Saved By the Black Panther and the Witch

Back when I was a reporter, I interviewed a former Black Panther and a former practicing witch. Both had been involved with violence and one had helped kill a man. They were saved by Jesus. I wanted a good story and they gave it to me. When the interview was done the Black Panther asked me if I knew Jesus. I said I wasn’t sure. “Do you want to know Jesus?”

When you are in the presence of a Black Panther and a witch, you don’t want to offend.

I said sure.

People appeared from different rooms in the farmhouse where the interview was conducted. They laid their hands on me and got a good group prayer going, telling me simply to confess my sins.

I didn’t think my sins were any of their business. There was some weird energy flowing and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I wasn’t sure being a reporter was worth it. I didn’t care if the witch had helped kill a person and now was showing people how to find Jesus.

So eyes closed, head bowed and with strangers hands all over me, I just said, “I confess. I confess. I confess. . . .”

Someday I’ll write about the whole affair. But every year at Christmas I remember the 1970s “Jesus Freaks”. I was after a story and they were after my soul.

I really don’t think Jesus cared much either way.

Fairy Dust and Three Wishes

I love writing, but when I’m finished, I’m impatient. I want all the techie stuff done. I want all the marketing to be in place and take care of itself.

So my dream is that when the novel is complete, Tinker Bell appears. I act in a calm, dignified, mature manner. (My fantasy about Tinker Bell is lifelong).

“Tinker Bell, cute, scantily clad fairy, spread your dust and let my novel be published.” She waves her wand to a harp soundtrack and One Woman’s Vengeance is a real book.

Then I side-scrub the musty lamp and Aladdin’s Genie morphs from mist, folds his muscular arms and does the three wishes thing.

“I wish for my book to have no typos.” He gives a silent nod and every wretched mistake miraculously heals itself.

“I wish for it to be a bestseller.” Another nod of the goatee face and I see Vengeance on the NY Times Bestseller list (and Amazon and Barnes & Noble and whatever the Chinese bestseller list is).

“My third wish is to be on Fresh Air, after which Clint Eastwood make a movie which earns two-story high Ebert thumbs up and –”

Tinker Bell floats in, sees the Genie and wiggles her hips: “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” She asks, dripping a little fairy dust from her wand to the sound of harp music. The Genie visibly melts, then grows.

To a child it’s charming. To an adult it’s clever porn.

“I think it was on the Disney set,” he says. ” You were –”

“Saving Peter!” She exclaims. (See?)

“An underfed busybody who will never know maturity,” the genie says, puffing up his chest and flexing his biceps. He glances at the short green skirt, then says suavely, “Wanna take a ride on my carpet? It’s magic,” he says softly. “It flies and undulates.”

Off they go into a land far, far away and I sit here with foreign HTML, broken links, and a withering dream of greatness.

I’ve never trusted entities that offer wishes because wishes always have some stupid demonic twist. But, Tinker Bell, you always seemed so innocent and straightforward and I loved you.

I feel a bit betrayed. I hope you fall off that wayward carpet right into my sea of typos.

]]>https://onewomansvengeance.com/2011/12/23/on-writing/feed/0DennisMillerTo Make The Violence Purehttps://onewomansvengeance.com/2011/11/17/to-make-the-violence-pure/
https://onewomansvengeance.com/2011/11/17/to-make-the-violence-pure/#respondThu, 17 Nov 2011 03:48:10 +0000http://onewomansvengeance.wordpress.com/?p=228Continue reading →]]>Note: The beauty of blogs is that one can revise. I thought about Ken’s question a lot over the weekend and expanded on my thoughts.

I had lunch with Dr. Ken Sarch, a music prof friend a Fulbright Scholar who has taught around the world. We were sitting in Night & Day on the corner in Mansfield, talking between bites of Greek Chicken Wraps and talking about art, music and computer viruses. Ken bought four copies of Vengeance for Christmas gifts. He read the preface page which says: “In this novel I aimed for three things:

To make the characters real,

The language precise,

And the violence pure.”

“What is pure violence? He asked.

I had given a lot of thought to those lines, but when he asked me for a definition, I couldn’t give it to him. Human interaction is never pure. Life isn’t pure, and violence certainly is not pure. All are messy. But I strove to clean out, to edit the messiness as much as possible. Hemingway has always been a model for this, which he did very well, until the end of his life. That was messy. Or maybe one shotgun blast was quick and clean.

I don’t know. I just know I aimed, with every word, every thought, every action, for the cleanest, most concise way of telling Nora Hawks’ story.

A story of absolute, total loss and from that, clearing a path of unfettered, unwavering, pure vengeance.

Let me know what you think.

“I Feel Energized”

I ran into a faculty friend on campus today and she mentioned how much she was looking forward to reading One Woman’s Vengeance.

“You know, I sat down to write to a friend the other night,” she said. “We hadn’t talked or corresponded in years and I wound up writing and writing, filling her in on my life and memories of our time together.” She stopped and smiled. “When I finished I felt, refreshed, energized.”

I feel the same way. Writing is not a chore; it’s a joy. Writing is playtime in a land of thought, expression, feeling; finding the right words and phrases to create and reinforce the meaning of your life.

Fiction is the art of bringing lives into meaning.

Writing to yourself or to a friend is meaningful conversation, increasingly rare in today’s world of thought bytes.

A few months ago, Scott DiMarco, library director at Mansfield University, asked if he could ban One Woman’s Vengeance to show the effects of censorship. I agreed. (Okay, I suggested it, never thinking he could actually do it).

He did. Scott formally banned it. There was an uproar on campus and around the country. Later, I wrote a Huffington Post blog about the experience. Scott wrote an article from his perspective. It was published in the July edition of College & Research Libraries. And then everything went crazy. Galley Cat picked it up. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund posted it. The Huffington Post made it their top story in the Books section. Then it rose to the first page on the Book section of Reddit.

From there, other bloggers grabbed it and it went viral. Within a day, Scott’s article exploded into a national discussion about book banning and censorship with Mansfield University as the center of the discussion.

And One Woman’s Vengeance was the holy child of censorship.

So, everyone’s talking about it. You need to read it and see what everyone’s talking about. Order it today and see if you agree that it should have been briefly banned or if Nora Hawks should be the new American Hero.

Cheryl Clarke of the Williamsport Sun Gazette has written a review of Vengeance that will appear this weekend. I’ll post a link when it appears. I’m also hearing rumors that Michael Capuzzo has a review in the April issue of the award-winning Mountain Home Magazine. Michael is the author of the 2010 best selling nonfiction book The Murder Room.

Made the jump to the Facebook Timeline using the title of the book cover for my header. Makes a nice tie-in with the blog. Check it out at DennisRMiller.

March 9, 2012

Did a really fun interview with Frank Akomb who does a live morning talk show on News Talk 1230 in Corning, NY. I had an idea this young guy was a pro when he tagged me yesterday on his Facebook page plugging the interview. Turns out he looked up my website, read the free first chapter and knew I liked classic country music. It helped that he loves westerns and a good five minutes of our interview was comparing favorite western movies. He was a good interviewer, giving the guest space to talk and then asking a relevant question as a follow up. Frank, thank you for a great experience.

March 1, 2012

Just sealed a deal with Barnes and Noble in Big Flats to do a book signing Saturday, May 12 from 2-4 p.m.

February 7, 2012

Why a Western? Who is Nora Hawks and how does a writer explore the depths of one woman’s fury? I explore all these questions and more during this Mansfield University podcast interview with Christie Martin. Let me know what you think of it.

January 30, 2012

Spent a a pleasant and invigorating hour with Michael Capuzzo this morning in the Native Bagel in Wellsboro. We talked about journalism, writing, the art of the story, One Woman’s Vengeance, and, of course, the beauty of our area which is in such a state of transition. Mike is the author of the bestseller The Murder Room. I interviewed him on my Conversations show when the book came out.

January 10, 2012

The ebook version of Vengeance is climbing up the Amazon charts. Not sure what it means but it can only be good, right?

***

A coworker stopped in my office at 1 p.m. “I started One Woman’s Vengeance at lunch and couldn’t believe it when I looked at my watch and an hour had gone by! I don’t want to stop reading.” That is truly music to a writer’s ears.

January 8, 2012

Mountain Home magazine has a new arts/events section and they kindly lead it off with a blurb about One Woman’s Vengeance, complete with a large photo of yours truly in a snow storm. The promo shot was taken by my son, Nathan. At the time, I didn’t think it was a good idea. I was, of course, wrong. I’m currently using the photo as my FB profile shot, which is where the Mountain Home editors saw it. Thanks, Nathan!

January 1, 2012

Needless to say, I hope this is the year of Nora Hawks. I’m doing everything I can to spread the word and hope all of you who’ve read and enjoyed One Woman’s Vengeance spread the Gospel of Hawks on your Facebook pages and other social network sites.

An interview with writer, arts supporter and friend Anthony Cardno about One Woman’s Vengeance. Check it out, and thank you, Anthony.

December 27, 2011

Doing a live interview on WLVY tomorrow morning on One Woman’s Vengeance. I think it is streamed from what I saw on their site and they will probably post it. Many thanks to John Gushue for arranging it.

December 17, 2011

Vengeance is in Elmira

For friends and fans in the Elmira area, One Woman’s Vengeance is now available at Cappy’s on Clinton St. Thanks to friend Jacob Burke for opening the door and to owner Amani Vlasic for her generosity. Cappy’s by the way, is a beautiful little independent with tons of unique gifts. Check them out and support our local businesses.

December 14, 2001

One Woman’s Vengeance is finally available in the Kindle edition on Amazon.com! Get your dose of vengeance for just $2.99. Big thanks again to Robyn Bradley and Sheran Lawton.

December 12, 2011

Just finished an interview with Anthony Cardno, a writer and tireless supporter of the arts and artists. They were intriguing questions that made me stop and consider a lot of aspects of One Woman’s Vengeance that I hadn’t thought of. Thanks, Anthony!

The book signings went well this weekend. Thanks to the folks at the MU Bookstore and From My Shelf Books.

December 8, 2011

Book signings tomorrow at the MU campus bookstore 10-2 and Saturday at From My Shelf Books in Wellsboro 11-2. I’d love to see you.

Mark your calendars. I’m doing a book signing at the From My Shelf Bookstore on Saturday, Dec. 10, tentatively set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thanks Kasey and company for giving me the opportunity! If you’re not already a friend you can like them on Facebook and keep up with all the news.

Let me know what you think of the audio version of the first chapter listed below.

I mentioned in a previous post that I would record an audio version of the first chapter of One Woman’s Vengeance. Here it is. Let me know what you think.

November 19, 2011

For folks around Mansfield, One Woman’s Vengeance is available in the Mansfield University bookstore. Buying it at the bookstore does three good deeds. 1. The bookstore financially supports a lot of organizations on campus. 2. All my profits go toward a scholarship fund for future writers. 3. You treat yourself to an entertaining dose of Vengeance!

November 18, 2011

Rebecca Hazen from the Wellsboro Gazette interviewed me this morning about Vengeance. The story should appear in next week’s issue. Rebecca’s a good writer. I’m looking forward to seeing the story.

November 17, 2011

Copies of One Woman’s Vengeance are now available in From My Shelf Books in Wellsboro. Thank you, Kasey! I hope we do business with a vengeance.

November 17, 2011

One Woman’s Vengeance is now available on Barnes & Noble in the e-version in a variety of formats. And it’s just $2.99! Check it out. Share the news with your friends, and thanks, everyone, for your support.

November 13, 2011

Kris, a student at MU, jokingly said, “I’ll buy One Woman’s Vengeance if you read it to me while I have cookies and milk.” I took him up on it and recorded the first chapter. I sent it to him with the message that he had to get his cookies and milk before he listened to it. If you want to hear the audio version of the first chapter, let me know and I’ll post it here.

As Peter said to Nora in the last line, “Talk . . . or walk.”

November 6, 2011

One step at a time. One Woman’s Vengeance is now available on iBooks in the iTunes store for $2.99. Check it out. Let your friends know. I’m still waiting for Amazon and Barnes and Noble to pick it up. Shouldn’t be too long, now.

In the meantime, if you want an autographed copy (which I’d love to send you, let me know.) I’ll need your mailing address plus $17 for the book plus shipping. Great Christmas gift!

October 31, 2011

One Woman’s Vengeance is now available on Lulu for $15 for the print edition and $2.99 for the e-book edition. Check it out. Follow Nora Hawks’ all-out quest for revenge and let me know what you think.

October 31, 2011

Just added a post to my running Commentary, “A Barren Landscape for Lost Souls.” I talk about why I wrote a western in the first place. This is a running commentary so if you’ve been to the page before, just scroll down to where ever you haven’t been.

The proof copies of One Woman’s Vengeance arrived today. The book looks beautiful. One small change on the copyright page and we’re set! I’ll order them tomorrow.

The book will be available on Lulu.com in a day or so, and on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in about four weeks, just in time for fall reading and Christmas gifts. It will also be available as an ebook.

God, it feels good to actually feel and hold it in its final physical form.

August 28, 2011

New Post under the “On Writing” page with thanks to my friend Shelly Clark. Conversations, no matter how hurried or brief, can add to our lives.

August 25, 2011

Email from the publisher that the proof copies are on their way. The typesetter has done everything correctly. The cover artist did everything by the specs. I really hope it comes through clean and ready to go. Getting really anxious now.

August 23, 2011

One Woman’s Vengeance is at the publisher. I should have paperback copies in a couple weeks. The book should be available at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com in four weeks.

Right now I’m working on the e-book version for nook, Kindle and other ereaders.

August 15, 2011

The typesetter returns from vacation this week. There are a couple pages to finish. The cover is done. Hopefully, we can get both sent to the publisher by the end of the week. I’m really getting anxious now. This blog is in place. The Facebook Author Page is live.

It’s time for Nora to come to life outside me, to share her with the world.